Churches seek path forward during the pandemic

(NBC News) As the lights come back on in businesses across the country, restaurants, gyms, retail outlets and even bars are receiving guidance from the Centers for Disease Control,
but to this point there have been no federal recommendations for places of worship.

The president and CDC are reportedly at odds over the issue.

“I want to get our churches open, and we are going to take a very strong position on that very soon,” President Trump said Thursday.

An administration official tells NBC News the White House plans to release recommendations for churches, synagogues and mosques in the next week to ten days.

For now states, or in some cases faith leaders themselves, are mapping out the way forward, and in some places filling the pews has caused problems. Holy Ghost Parish in Houston closed for a second time after a priest died from COVID-19, and more than 100 parishioners are in quarantine.

In Palermo, California close to 200 churchgoers may have been exposed to the virus. There, a congregant tested positive after attending a Mother’s Day service.